


A Different Time

by AliceMcCartney



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), BillDip, Human Bill Cipher, Human!Bill, M/M, Magic, Nice Bill Cipher, Post-Weirdmageddon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-03-08 02:54:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13449018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliceMcCartney/pseuds/AliceMcCartney
Summary: Five years after the events of Weirdmaggeddon Dipper Pines returns to Gravity Falls, just to find himself face to face with an old, not so triangular demon - who can't remember a thing. The Pines family is still suspicious about the blond boy, but soon a plan forms in their minds. Could they actually make Bill a better person, now that he has no clue about his previous life?(Will contain more BillDip shipping later on in the story)





	1. Prologue

Gravity Falls,  Oregon, 5 years after the events of Weirdmageddon.

_A different form,_

_A different time._

A young man lays on the ground in the middle of what it seems like a forest, slowly opening his eyes. The bright sun is blinding him, he holds his arm above his face and blinks a few times, before slowly sitting up. Light blonde hair falls over the left half of his face.

 

„Where…“, he blinked again, seemingly confused about those sounds coming out of his mouth.

 

„Where am I?“

 

**_Gravity Falls._ **

 

„And who am I?“

****

**_Name‘s Bill  Cipher!_ **

 

While speaking out those questions, their answers ring in his ears, but when he tries to remember anything else, it’s just a blank void. He doesn‘t know how he got there, where he came from or why he’s wearing such stiff clothes. It seems like all his memories got… erased. A flash image of a weird looking gun appeared for a split second in his mind, before disappearing into blue flames.

 

„Ouch…“, a pain goes through his body, as he tries to stand up. He looks around, but still, no clue how he got there. He is standing in the middle of nowhere. The next civilization could be miles away! Despite the anxious thought, he remains pretty calm. He tries to walk a few steps, but it turns out pretty wonky and weird as if he’s not so sure how these things attached to his body work. But after a while, he gets the hang of it.

 

So he starts walking straight in one direction, in hope to find anyone or anything.


	2. Chapter 2

17 years old Mason „Dipper“ Pines is finally back in the old shack in Gravity Falls. Each year for summer break, Dipper and his sister Mabel visited their great uncles in the (not so) sleepy town in Oregon, this year should not be an exception. Gravity Falls remained weird, so Dipper is desperate to do his own research on the various creatures and things. One summer is never enough for this, but he still has school to attempt.

 

Mabel excitedly bursts through the door, her bag in her left arm, her pig Waddles in the other. „The Mystery Twins are back in town“, she screams into the old shack. „Grunkle“ Stan gently pushes her in, so the rest of the family can step inside.

 

„Sheesh kid, no need to be so loud, nobody‘s home.“, he grumbles, but it is followed by a smile, he is happy that his favorite nephew and niece are back. „Ford is still out in the woods, doing some nerdy stuff, but he promised to come home early due to your arrival.“

 

The kids nod. „Well, I guess we go upstairs and unpack our things, right Mabel?“, Dipper asks, Mabel smiles. „Of course, come on Waddles, this way!“ She goes ahead, up the stair, followed by her little pig and Dipper.

 

\---

 

The young man stumbles through the woods for hours. When he comes across a deer, he stops. „Hello, excuse me, sir.“, he shouts. The deer runs away as soon as it notices him. With a hurt expression, he looks after the deer. „Rude.“, he mumbles. He thinks about following it but decides otherwise.

 

After another 30 min run, he finds some signs nailed to the trees. They say „Enter!“ and „To the Mystery Shack“. He looks at those signs for a solid minute. „Mystery Shack?“, he whispers. He follows where the signs are pointing until he finds himself in front of the tourist trap. A young lady stands outside, feeding a little pig some candy. He inspects her carefully, she is about the same age as himself, so he calls her: „Excuse me, madam!“

 

She turns her head, as he walks towards her. Unfortunately, he trips over a pebble and meets face first the ground. „Oh my gosh, are you alright?“, she screams and runs towards him. Her long brown hair falls over her shoulders, as she bends down to hold out her hand. „Ah, yes, thank you, madam.“, he smiles and gets up.

 

„I got lost in the woods and don’t remember a thing.“, he explains. „May I ask, where I am now? And may I use your bathrooms?“ She looks at him from up to bottom and back. „Uh, sure.“, she whispers while examining his golden eyes. „Well, this is the Mystery Shack in Gravity Falls, Oregon“, she continues. _Gravity Falls_ , there it was again, this weird name. He nods. „Thank you very much.“

 

Exactly in this moment Dipper steps outside. „Mabel?“, he looks around.  He sees her with a stranger on the edge of the forest. „Ah, there you are. As I thought you’re over your boy crazy phase, you throw yourself back at another boy? You’re cray-cray!“, he laughs. Mabel tries to look upset. „I’m not, Dipper.“, she sticks out her tongue at him. The blonde looks at Dipper. _Pine Tree._ He shakes his head in confusion. No, no, no, no. She said Dipper. That’s still an odd name.

 

Dipper comes near. „Who are you?“, he asks. The Blonde looks at him. „Ah, excuse me, sir, name’s Bill Cipher, nice to meet you.“, he holds out his hand to him, an attempt for a handshake. Mabel steps back, looking at him with suspicion. The twins look at each other. „Dipper, he-“, she gets interrupted. „What do you want from us?“, Dipper hisses at the blonde, who seems confused. „I found myself lost in the woods“, Bill responds. „He said he lost his memory“, Mabel adds. He nods. „Yes, yes, I woke up, only knowing my name-“ „Mabel, he is clearly lying!“, Dipper yells, which makes the girl shake in fear, „Don’t you see, he’s using some sort of mind trick.“

 

Mabel takes some more steps away from Bill. „I’m gonna inform Grunkle Stan.“, she says and runs in the shack. „Wait, Shooting Sta- I mean Mabel! Please...“, Bill stutters. „You cannot fool us again, Bill. I don’t know who you possessed this time, but once Ford is back we’ll make sure to exorcise you to hell.“

 

Bill sinks down to his knees. „I- I am sorry…“, he whispers. „What?“, Dipper looks askance at the demon. Right in this moment, Grunkle Stan bursts through the door holding a baseball bat and yells „Where is this little brick, he’s gonna regret his life when I’m done with him!“ To make things perfect, great uncle Ford returns as well, confused about the situation he asks: „Stanley, what’s going on?“

 

„I am sorry“, Bill repeats, „apparently you know me better than I do… And from what it seems like I am a really bad person.“ Dipper’s expression lightens as he looks in the boy’s eyes. He really means it. But that’s like impossible. It’s Bill Cipher we’re talking about. Bill fucking Cipher evil demon triangle, destroyer of dimension. What is he playing? Dipper isn’t so sure anymore.

 

Ford rushes by after Stan told him about the situation. „Dipper, step away from that thing!“, he yells. „Great uncle Ford, wait“, Dipper responses. Ford examines his nephew carefully. „What it, Dipper?“, he asks himself, if Bill already infected Dippers mind, or if he’s talking to the real one. „He said he lost his mind“, Dipper mutters. Ford nods slowly. „Do you want to say-“ „I think I believe him.“ The old man steps back and thinks for a second. Somehow this sounds plausible, he has to admit. Bill got hit pretty hard by the beam of the memory gun. And all of them knew, he’d come back some day or another since he invoked the Axolotl before his death. Would it be far-fetched to believe, they could actually make him a good person, now that he got no memory of his previous life?


	3. Chapter 3

It was hard to convince everyone about the change of plan, especially Stan was really suspicious, Ford himself wasn’t so sure if they do the right thing. So now their former enemy sits clueless in their living room. Great.  

 

„Why does he have to stay with us?“, Grunkle Stan grumbles. „You can’t just leave him out there in the wood.“, Mabel responds, „He’ll get eaten by a Multi-Bear.“ „Good.“, Stan replies harshly. Bill observes the two during their argument. „Stanley, we all agreed to the plan“, Ford explains, „He stays here, I need to make some experiments.“ Bill glances at the old man. Is this even legal, he thinks but says nothing. He is glad for their hospitality. „If he stays here, he will work in the shack. I will not support this dumb triangle for nothing!“, Stan says. „Whatever!“, Ford replies. Bill doesn’t really like, how they decide over his head, but does he have a choice? „I can do this, Mister Pines…“, he says. Stan glances at him for a second, before leaving the room. The blonde looks down.

 

Dipper has a hard time trying to not chew on his shirt. Or anything else. He’s walking up and down in the hallway. Is he doing the right thing? What if Bill is lying? Will he stab him and his family in their sleep? Or burn down the shack? Thousands of questions circulate over his head. Ford comes in the hallway. „Dipper, are you alright?“, he asks. Dipper just nods. „Alright then. It’s late, you should rest.“

 

Bill sits in the attic with the twins, they gave him a mattress, which lays on the floor, and some clothes to sleep in. Mabel takes it pretty well, already knitting their „guest“ a sweater – of course in yellow.

 

\---

 

The next morning Bill is sitting in Ford's lab. He actually shares quite an interest in the old man's research, but Ford doesn’t let his former enemy touch anything.

 

Dipper’s plan for the day is pretty simple: Eat breakfast, pack bag, get in the forest to find some mysterious creature to research. He will definitely not give up on his summer plans, just because some stupid triangle decided to show up again. There’s nothing to worry about Bill, right?

 

Mabel, on the other hand, has to work in the shack today. Grunkle Stan had assigned her to make some new fake creatures for the tours, so she got a big pack of glitter. This is gonna be great, she thinks while crafting. Dipper is on his way tot he kitchen, as he sees his sister sitting in the living room gluing glitter on almost everything. „Morning, sister“, he smiles, „Are you re-decorating the shack?“ She turns around. „Almost, Grunkle Stan said he needs some new exhibits.“, she answers. Dipper nods. „What about breakfast?“, he asks, which she answers with showing him her half-eaten sandwich.

 

Grunkle Stan is sitting in the kitchen, sipping on his coffee mug. Dipper comes in and looks in the fridge for something to eat. „Grunkle Stan, the fridge is empty“, he complains and puts a slice of bread in the toaster. Stan doesn’t say anything, he’s busy reading the newspaper. Ford comes in. „Is there any coffee left?“, he asks and yaws. „Yep, just a sec‘.“, Dipper replies and gives his great uncle a mug of coffee. „You are up very early.“, Ford looks at DIpper. „Yea, I want to go in the woods later“, Dipper answers, „But you too.“ Ford nods. „Yes, Bill is still downstairs, we aren't finished yet.“

 

„You are not afraid he’d do something?“ Ford shakes his head. „Nah, he has no clue. All his memories got wimped out. It’d be almost sad if we weren‘t talking about Bill.“

 

\---

 

While Dipper is out in the woods, Mabel is looking out for the gift shop with Wendy. „So, how’s that new guy?“, Wendy asks Mabel. After Bill was finished with Ford's experiments, he was assigned to Soos, who needs to teach the Blonde how to do the tours and talk to customers. „Ah, uhm his name’s Bill“, Mabel answers. „He’s new here.“ „Yeah, I can see that, but I mean, what is he up to?“, Wendy laughs, „Are you datin‘?“ Mabel blushes a bit but shakes her head. Never ever would she date this triangle demon. He might have lost his mind but he is still Bill, after all, right? But she has to admit, she likes him a lot more this way, he is actually really nice.

 

Soos steps inside. „And here’s the gift shop, dude. If you need a snack, there’s the vending machine“, he laughs. „That’s where Ford’s lab is.“, Bill adds. „Thank you very much for showing me around, sir!“, he smiles. „No need to be so formal, dude. Just call me Soos, everyone does.“ „We’re telling him this since yesterday, Soos.“, Mabel laughs. Bill blushes. „I’m sorry, I’m having a hard time getting used to all this.“, he mutters shyly.


	4. Chapter 4

„Bill?“, the brunette girl stands in the hallway, hands on her hips, looking at the blonde boy who tried to sneak out the shack. „What do you think you are doing?“

 

Bill slowly turns his head. „I’m not sure what you mean? You heard Mister Pines, I’m assigned to-“ „No, no, no, I mean this!“, she points at him. „Excuse me, what?“, he looks down at himself in confusing.

„You’re clothes! You’ve been wearing this stinky clothes since you stumbled out of that forest.“, she yells. Finally, Bill caught up with her. He’s been with the Pines for a few days now, and since he doesn’t own anything else he’s been wearing the same clothes all day. Yes, also wears the sweater Mabel made him, but only after work. He’s really anxious to look decent when around customers.

 

„I’m sorry, madam, it’s just I have nothing else…“, he stutters.

 

„I don’t wanna hear any excuses. I’m gonna get my bag, we’re going to the mall. This is unacceptable.“, Mabel tries to look serious, but it’s obvious she playing. Because soon after she bursts out into laughter. She pats Bill on the shoulder. „No serious, we go to the mall. Hang on.“, she says and runs upstairs to suit the action to the word. A few minutes later she stands in front of him, smiling. „What ‘cha waiting for, let's go!“

 

\---

 

A couple of hours later Bill is holding two big bags full of clothes, he walks behind Mabel who is leading the way to her favorite ice cream store. „You‘ re gonna love it, trust me.“, she says. If you say so, he thinks but smiles at her.

 

„Here it is!“, Mabel drags him into a very small store. It doesn’t even have chairs and tables to sit at, only the counter with a handful of flavors. Bill looks around. What a lovely little store, he smiles. „Hello~“, Mabel yells over the counter, which makes a teenager appear. He wears work clothes and looks not too happy with the customers. „Uh, hey, what can I get you?“, he asks. „Two times rainbow flavor please“, Mabel answers. They get their ice cream and step outside.

 

Bill inspects the colorful scoop carefully before taking a bite. „Woa, what the heck is this?“, he looks at Mabel, who adds big handful sprinkles to her scoop. „It tastes like all flavors.“, Bill mutters. „Yup.“, Mabel laughs, „That’s the best.“

 

„Shooting Star?“

 

„It’s Mabel.“

 

„That’s… what I meant. Sorry.“

 

„What is it?“

 

„Thank you.“, Bill smiles at her, „Today was really fun.“

 

\---

 

„Mabel, where were you all day?“, Dipper asks without looking up from his book. He’s sitting on his bed and reading through his journal. „Grunkle Stan made me work in the shack all alone.“, he continues, while Mabel puts down her bag. „Chill out, I just was at the mall with Bill.“, she answers, „I’m gonna make it up to you, okay?“ Finally, he lays down the book and looks at her. „Thanks. But next time please announce something like this earlier.“, he criticises. She nods.

 

„Hey, bro-bro?“, she sits down next to him, „You go back into the woods tomorrow, right?“ He nods.

 

 „Can you do me a favor?“

 

„What is it?“

 

„Would you please take Bill with you?“

 

Dipper tilts his head. „What are you up to?“, he asks confused. „Okay, I know what you’re thinking, you still don’t trust him.“, she starts to explain, „But listen. Try to see things from his perspective. He’s an actually nice guy and he’s having a hard time getting used to all this.“ Dipper signs. „Whatever…“

 

It knocks at the door and Bill comes in. He looks at the twins and smiles. „You owe me something.“, Dipper whispers at Mabel. She giggles and sits on her own bed. Bill tilts his head. Did I miss something? he asks himself.  Dipper shakes his head. „Yo, Bill.“ „Yes?“, Bill examines him carefully. „Would you like to join me tomorrow? I’m gonna go in the woods.“, Dipper asks. Bill is surprised, but nods. „I’d be honored…“, he smiles widely.


	5. Chapter 5

„Whoa, so you wrote all of this?“, Bill browzes through Dippers journal in excitement. The two boys are out in the woods for about two hours now. „Yep.“, Dipper answers. He’s leading the way, looking out for something interesting, while the Blonde is following him. „Great uncle Ford studied those creatures in Gravity Falls years ago and he wrote it all down in his journals. So when I started my own research, I wrote my own journal as well.“

 

Bill looks up from the book, he remembers Ford writing down something in a book while experimenting with Bill. He nods, even though Dipper doesn’t look at him. „So, what are we looking for today?“, Bill asks. „Apparently there’s a fountain in the forest, which is said to reverse and/or stop the effects of aging. I wanna check if this is a thing, not so unlikely for Gravity Falls, or just somebody wanted to spread a dumb rumor.“ Bill closes the book and puts in in his backpack. „So basically a fountain of youth.“, he thinks loudly. „Kinda.“, Dipper mumbles.

 

He looks at the Blonde and recalls his conversation with his sister. Why does he need to bring Bill along? Bill notices Dippers look but tries to not let it show. There is this awkward silence that makes everybody uncomfortable.

 

After another 10 minutes of walking Dipper stops, which makes Bill almost run into him. „What’s-“, he attempts to say, but gets cut off. „Shh“, Dipper hisses. A faint rustling attracts the attention of the two boys. They look around, slowly stepping backward.

 

All of a sudden a creature jumps out from behind a bush and tears down Dipper. „Fuck!“, he swears while it’s sharp claws press into the flesh. It leaves bloody marks and the brunette cries in pain. Bill reacts immediately and pushes the monster away from Dipper. It barks out in anger, trying to catch Bill with its fangs. But he is faster and ditches its attacks, quickly it realizes that it’s pointless and runs towards DIpper, who just got up and is about to whip out a knife for defense. Bill perceive what’s going on and yells: „Watch out!“ before jumping in front of Dipper, taking the beasts attack. He gets bitten in the arm, he clenches his teeth, trying not to howl in pain.

 

Dipper silently mutters something to himself, before stabbing the knife in the monsters shoulder, which makes it release Bill. He pulls out the knife just to stab it again in the chest. His eyes are filled with rage. He stops when it’s dead body falls to the ground. There’s blood on the ground, on his hands, on the knife, he whips up the blood on the knife with his shirt, then looks at Bill. He’s breathing heavily, but asks: „Are you alright?“ Bill nods, „Sure, it’s nothing.“ He sharply inhales air, as he tries to move his arm. „You are bleeding.“, Dipper remarks. „Don’t tell me this, look at yourself.“, Bill answers, trying to put on a smile.

 

„Let’s fix you up.“, Dipper mutters, putting down his backpack. He takes out a first aid kit and a water bottle. He first cleans his hands, then Bills wound with the water. „This might burn a bit“, he says while putting antiseptic on a towel. „Don’t need to tell me thaaa-“, Bill tries to complain but cuts off as Dipper places the towel on the wound. „FUCK, THIS BURNS LIKE HELL!“, he yells. Dipper just shrugs. „You, gotta know.“, he smiles sassy. The Blonde tries to laugh it off. After the wounds are bandaged, the two decide to head back to the shack. No more adventures for today.

 

„Pinetree?“, Bill looks up to smile Dipper in the face. „Hm?“, he seems a bit startled by Bill‘s sudden break of the silence. The blonde rubs his arm and looks at the ground again.

 

 „Thank you.“

 

„For what?“

 

„Today was fun. Well, the attack of that… thing not so much but everything around this incident.“ Bill suddenly feels a heat rise in his head and tries to hide his blushing face. What is this feeling, he asks himself.

 

\---

 

„Whoa“, Mabel drops her bag of gummi bears when the two boys step into the living room. „What happened? You look like hell.“, she asks and picks up her candy. „We just got back.“, Dipper answers shortly, he walks past her and sits down on the couch. Bill follows. He lets out a sigh of relief, as he sits down. After all, what happened, he really needs to chill a bit. „No, seriously, what happened?“, Mabel broaches the subject again, but Dipper just waves his hand, showing her that he really doesn’t want to talk about it right now. She accepts it silently.

 

Bill closes his eyes, rerunning the events of the day in his head. He feels happy, that he was allowed to come along this time. Maybe we will repeat this someday? he asks himself.  In a surprise, he opens his eyes when he feels a weight against his shoulder. Dipper felt asleep and his head is resting on Bill’s shoulder as it was nothing. He must have been really tired, a soft smile depicts his lips. „How cute.“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yaass finally they are getting closer :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magic happens and Bill & Dipper get closer to each other.

_„Where…“, Bill whispers carefully, looking around. A dream? He seems to be in the shack but… not really. It seems like a maze of thousand doors, he opens one of them reluctantly. It shows Dipper and Mabel in their first year in Gravity Falls. Bill looks further. Happy memories. Fishing trip, adventures, time travel, fun… He could almost taste their happiness. It makes him smile. „Is this… Dipper’s mindscape?“, he asks himself._

_He continues wandering around. The corridor ends. So he turns around but all of a sudden he’s in a different spot. A silent whisper hushes through the place. „trust no one.“ It says. He slowly walks to the next door. Somehow he falls a pressure on his chest. Insecurity crawls up his back. His hand is shaking as he reaches for the doorknob. „Why…“, he bits his tongue._

**_Maybe you shouldn’t do this._ **

****

_He freezes. Why not?_

**_You might see things you don’t want to._ **

****

_Bill hesitates. So is this about me? His hand reaches the knob. No answer. Just silence. It’s like everything around him disappeared. Now his whole body is shaking. What even is this feeling!?_

_He slowly opens the door. Just a little bit. „So which puppet do you wanna pick anyway?“ Bill listens closely. He’s standing in front of the door, too afraid to look at what’s behind it. „SORRY KID, BUT YOU’RE MY PUPPET NOW!“ Bills eyes widen as he hears his voice speaking. So this is about me, he thinks._

_He closes his eyes and sighs. His hand still holds onto that knob. He slowly opens the door wider for a few inches before closing it. I really shouldn’t sneak in his memories like this._

_All of a sudden a hole opens underneath him. He loses sight, falling into a void. His heart’s racing. A maniac laugh resounds. He recognizes his voice. He looks around, eyes widen. „Show yourself, demon.“ And he follows order. A mirror appears, showing his demon form. Bill looks at his reflection before the mirror break into thousand pieces._

****

Bill snaps back into reality. He is breathing heavily and his head hurts. He looks around. Dipper and Mabel are standing in front of him, looking very worried. „Oh my gosh, he is awake.“, Mabel sighs in relief. He opens his mouth to say something but gets interrupted by a sharp pain in his left eye. He hisses and holds his hand there, just to feel a liquid coming out o fit. In confusion, he looks at his hand. It's blood.

 

„Hey man, are you alright?“, Dipper asks. Bill nods slowly but then shakes his head. „How does it look?“, he asks quietly. „You should see a doctor.“, Mabel suggests and gives him a tissue. He cleans himself up and stares at the blood-soaked tissue. „We also should tell great uncle Ford“, Dipper adds. Bill slowly nods, he stands up and makes his way to the bathroom. Mabel follows to comfort him.

 

„Ugh, this is really annoying“, Bill complains while holding up his hair to look at the wound, „It’s always in my face.“ Mabel tries to help but then gets an idea. She takes out a hairpin from a drawer and uses it to get the hair out of his face. „Better?“ He looks at himself in the mirror and nods. „Thanks, shooting star!“

 

„It makes him look like a girl“, Dipper smirks while standing in the doorway. Bill blushes. Ford rushes in, his journal in his left, pen in the right hand. The blonde sits perfectly still while the old man examines his wound. „How did this happened?“, he frowns. Bill just shrugs. „I woke up like this.“

 

„Grunkle Ford, we must  take him to the hospital!“, Mabel implies. He shakes his head. „What do you want to tell them? That dream daemon Bill Cipher somehow got himself a human body? Bill, do you think you can… handle this?“ Bills eyes widen. He opens his mouth in order to say something but Ford answers his unspoken question: „It’s alright.“ Now Dipper and Mabel look confused. „What do you mean?“, Dipper asks.

 

Ford sighs, trying to think of words: „Look, kid, the last few days we made some experiments and-“ „I have healing powers“, Bill blurts, but then covers his mouth, „sorry…“ The twins look at him in disbelief. „Seriously?“, Dipper scruffles through his hair, „Since when do you know?“ Bill just shrugs. He doesn’t want Dipper to know that he’s aware of this since their adventure in the woods. Dipper sighs: „Alright. So, how does this work?“ The blonde looks at the ground. „I need… _energy_. But we can worry about that later. Could you maybe… I don’t know, leave? I’m not comfortable when everybody‘s looking.“

 

Dipper wants to disagree but Mabel already got up and left. Ford writes down some notes in his journal, before making his way to the door. Dipper sighs. „You sure are something. Makes me wanna make my own research on you.“, he smiles awkwardly. Bill blushes. Once they all left Ford speaks up: „That might not be so bad, Dipper.“ The teen turns around. „What do you mean?“, he asks. „I’ve been thinking, if you’d like to continue the research about him, I let you. You kids spend way more time with him. I can give you the notes I’ve already written.“ Dippers face lights up, „You mean it? Thank you so much! I will not let you down.“

 

\---

 

„I am exhausted. Could go right back to bed.“, Bill leans against the counter in the gift shop. He has work shift and the next tour will be in ten minutes. Dipper is restocking the merchandise for the new customers. „But you just got out of bed“, he laughs.

 

„You don‘t have any idea how draining this healing progress is. Especially something this sensitive as an eye.“, Bill answers, then take a sip from his water bottle.  Dipper just shrugs. „You are so harsh, Pine Tree“, the blonde smirks and wipes a fake tear from his eye, „you really hurt my feelings.“ Dipper laughs and sticks out his tongue, „yea right, how can I possibly make it up to you, Blondie?“

 

Bill contemplates for a second. „If you‘d do the tour for me, I could forgive you.“, He makes a face. „No can do.“, Dipper shrugs, „but I have a better idea.“ Bill tilts his head. „What is it?“, he asks. Right in that moment, the tour bus drives up the parking lot. „I’ll tell you about it later. You gotta go.“, Dipper smirks and gently pushes Bill out the door.

 

\---

 

„Where are we going?“

 

„You will see when we are there.“

 

„But I’m curious. I mean it could be a trap… Just give me a hint!“

 

„That would ruin the surprise, wouldn’t it?“

 

„Pine Tree~! PLEASE.“

 

„We are here.“

 

„Finally!“, Bill raises his arms in relief. He looks around but doesn’t see anything. „Pine Tree, you lied to me. There’s nothing here.“ Dipper just giggles. „It’s right over here, Blondie.“, he turns Bill around and pushes him gently in the direction. His eyes widen, as he looks down. „Whoa, what’s that?“, he gasps. „Well, it’s… you.“ They look right at Bill’s statue, his physical body he left at Weirdmaggeddon. It’s covered in moss and grass, but besides that it’s unharmed. Even five years later, it’s still at its spot. The folks of Gravity Falls didn’t care too much about it, they probably forgot it was there. But Dipper hasn’t. Bills body shakes as he reaches out his hand to touch it.

 

„This is so… surreal.“, he whispers as he goes over the contours with his fingertips. Dipper watches him narrowly. Bill carefully touches the hand of the statue.

 

_„Wait, I surrender.“, Ford yells, right before he killed Shooting Star. „Good choice.“, he says while releasing the kids. „Don’t do it, Ford!“, Stanley grabs his brother by the chest, „It’ll destroy the universe!“ „It’s the only way!“, Ford replies. Bill laughs. „Even when you’re about to die you Pines twins can’t get along.“, he snaps, the cage falls apart but Stanley gets chained up so he can’t move. They settle the conditions of the deal. The kids yell at him, but he already made his mind. „It’s a deal!“, Bills hand lights up in fire._

Bill snaps back to reality. He stares at the blue flame in his hand, before it disappears. „That was… a dream? No…“, he looks at the statue, „A memory.“ Dipper puts a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. „Are you alright?“, he asks carefully. The blonde nods. „Dipper, I remembered something.“ Dippers eyes widen. He takes out his journal and a pen to write it down. „Tell me.“

 

„Weirdmaggeddon. I made a deal with Sixer.“, he mutters, looking down as if he’s ashamed. Guilty. Dipper slowly nods while writing down the new information. „Pine Tree?“, Bill bites his tongue. The brunette looks up. „Yes?“ Bill suddenly wraps his arms around him. „I’m sorry…“, he mutters. Startled by the sudden hug Dipper froze for a second, before returning the hug. After a minute Bill let go.

 

„So, can you tell me how you did that… flame thing?“, Dipper asks. The blonde tilts his head in confusion.

 

„I don’t know, it feels like I always knew.“

 

„Just try it.“

 

„OK, uhm… Give me your hand.“

 

Dipper hesitates. „Trust me.“, Bill smiles at him. He breathes deep in before laying his hand on Bills. It is dead silent while the daemon concentrates on the spell. Then he whispers: „Ignis.“ And a blue flame lights up in his hand. Dippers eyes widen but remain calm. The flame doesn’t hurt him at all. „Incredible…“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must thank you all for all your nice comments and kudos (even though I haven't quite figured out what they are but I guess something good). It's always the highlight of my day when I get a nice comment on my newest chapter and it motivates me to keep writing.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lost demon
> 
> about 5'9", blonde, stupid big smile, likes triangles
> 
> if found please return to the Mystery Shack

Bill sighs with a smile on his lips. He’s sitting with the twins on the roof of the mystery shack, looking at the stars. Dipper tells his sister about what happened in the woods and shows her his notes. She listens carefully with excitement in her eyes. „Wow Bill, I didn’t know you could do all this stuff.“, she gasps. The Blonde just shrugs. „Me neither.“, he laughs.

 

Bill snuggles up in the sweater Mabel made him. So cozy, he thinks. Suddenly it’s so quiet, the twins stop talking and just appreciate the silence. Gravity Falls can be pretty sleepy. Bill yawns which break the silence. „I think we should go to bed soon.“, Mabel suggests. The boys agree. And so they make their way back inside the shack.

 

\---

 

**_You really think they trust you? How pathetic._ **

****

_Bill opens his eyes, his body is shaking and his heart rushes. Who said that? What was that?_

**_You once were definitely something. But now? You’re even worse than the other certain triangle shaped demon._ **

****

_„The other… wait there’s more?“, he asks. No answer._

_He bites his tongue. „This is a dream right?“, he slowly begins to realize. He remembers how they decided to go to bed after hanging out on the roof._

**_It’s funny how dumb you are. They were able to trick you so easily. They will betray you._ **

****

_„Leave me alone!“, he yells into the air. He actually trusts the twins and feels a strong friendship towards them. „Dipper and Mabel would never let me down.“_

_Bill turns around and sees the silhouettes of the twins. So near, but too far to touch them. He walks towards them, but they start to become blurry. „Wait don’t leave me…“_

Bill wakes up. He slowly opens his eyes, a fresh breeze blows through his hair. What a lovely morning, he thinks. Some birds in the trees sing and a cute rabbit hops through the bushes. There are some fluffy white clouds in the blue sky. Bill puts on a smile before he realizes. „Wait a minute!“, he gets up and finds himself somewhere in nowhere. He stands in a forest meadow, everything around him looks the same. „Dammit, how did I get here?“

 

\---

 

„Dipper, have you seen Bill?“, Mabel looks worried at her brother. Dipper just shrugs. „I don’t know, maybe he got up early?“, he suggests but Mabel just shakes her head. „He is not in the shack, I already looked everywhere.“ Dipper tilts his head but swallows the question why she even looked for that demon in the first place. „I even asked Grunkle Stan if he send him out for something but he denies.“, she continues.

 

Dipper looks down with a saturnine look, he doesn’t want to show it too much, but he’s worried about Bill as well. He tries to tell himself that he doesn’t want to let that triangle demon run wild or lose his test subject but he actually cares about him like for a friend. Bill’s been living with the Pines for quite a while now and he grew really attached to the young twins.

 

„We should go and look for him. Maybe he’s lost.“, Mabel interrupts Dippers thinking process. He nods. „You’re right.“, he gets up and grabs his bag, which already contains everything he needs when he goes into the woods. He always has it finished packed next to his bed, in case he needs it.

 

On their way out Stan catchest hem off. „Where do you two think you are going this early in the morning?“, he asks. Mabel tries to answer truthfully but Dipper cuts her off. „Just the grocery store, they have this new type of cereals and we wanna get our hands on it before it’s sold out.“, he lies. Mabel tries to smile but it comes out awkwardly. „You still eat that crap? Well, whatever. Did you find that stupid triangle?“, Stan replies. „Uh, sure he was just… in the bathroom.“, Mabel nods. „I told ya. Nobody ever believes me.“, Stan laughs, „Well, good luck with your cereal stuff. I gotta go watch some TV.“

 

The kids go outside. After a solid ten minutes of walking Mabel finally speaks up. „Why did we lied to Grunkle Stan?“, she asks. „You know how little he thinks of Bill.“, Dipper explains, „He’d be everything else than happy with the thought of powerful dream triangle running wild in Gravity Falls. Especially now that he got some fragments of if memory and magic back. I am worried too, but I will not shoot him.“ Mabel bites her tongue and nods silently. Dipper’s right, she thinks. „And what about great-uncle Ford?“, she tries to keep up the conversation. „What about him?“ „We didn’t tell him either.“

 

„Look, Mabel, sometimes it’s better to keep some things for yourself. Ford is a wise man and you know I respect him, but we are talking about Bill. Ford cannot get over his past with him, yes, he said he gave me the research of Bill because we are closer or something but really, I think he wants to avoid that Blondie. I don’t know if you noticed, but the rings under his eyes have gotten worse in the last weeks since Bill is here. Also, his coffee consumption increased. I’m sure he’s not getting much sleep with that triangle around. Haven’t quite figured out if he’s just worried sick or nightmares.“

 

\---

 

„Hello Stanley“, Ford steps into the living room, „Have you seen the kids?“ Stan shrugs, „They said they’re going to the grocery store or something.“ Ford nods. „And Bill?“ Stan rolls his eyes. „Why is everyone looking for that dumb triangle today? Is he now the most important person here? No idea where he his, probably upstairs or something. The kids didn’t bring him along.“

 

„OK thank you.“, Ford says and steps away, ignoring Stans complain about the ask for Bill.

 

\---

 

Several hours later the twins are still wandering in the woods, looking for Bill. „Dipper, do you really know where we are? Not that we get lost too…“, Mabel looks worried and places a hand on Dippers shoulder. He just nods. „Sure.“ He bits his tongue. Stupid demon, he thinks, where did you run off? Why even? Did you get your memory back?

 

The thoughts circulate over his head, he doesn’t even realize he’s been chewing on his shirt again. They come across a forest meadow and Mabel gets an idea. „Maybe we should take a break. We’ve been walking for hours now.“ Dipper agrees. So they sit down on a fallen tree to collect some strength.

 

“Ugh, where did this stupid triangle go?”, Dipper chews on a pen while looking on the map. Mabel sighs and takes the pen from Dipper. She tries to stay positive and draws a smiley on Dippers map. Dipper looks at her so she puts on a big smile. But he knows, she is really worried about Bill. “Say, Dipper”, she looks at the ground, “What do you think about Bill anyway?” He tilts his head. “What do you mean?” “I know you very well. You still don’t let go of the past, do you? Bill changed, is this really so hard to understand? He feels truly sorry for what he did. Everyone deserves a second chance. Even Bill.”

 

Dipper examines his sister carefully.

 

“Mabel, can I be honest with you for a second?”

 

\---

 

“Damn, I am lost.”

 

Bill looks around, he tried to go back to the shack, but it seems like he’s not getting any closer. He ruffles through his hair, thinking of what to do now. He tried asking the forest animals for help but they are just running away from him as if he’s a threat or something.

 

After wandering around for another half hour he finds a cave. “Well, I guess this is my home now.”, he sits down to rest a bit. He sighs. “I don’t even know how I ended up here. Did I sleepwalked or something?”, he asks himself.

 

“What are you doing in my cave?”, a voice asks from the deep and dark part of the cave. Bill jumps up. “Ah, excuse me, sir, I didn’t want to invade your private space.”, he bits his tongue. “I was just… tired? I think I am lost.” The creature comes near and it reveals itself to be some sort of… bear? With like 8 heads. It’s walking slowly towards Bill, growling dangerously.

 

Bill backs up carefully. “Why have you come here?”, it asks. Bill rolls his eyes. “As I said, I’m kinda lost, uh, and tired. If you want I leave.”, he examines the creature carefully. “Do you seek my head? I am tired of those dumb Manotaurs sending children after me.”, it gets louder. Bill sighs. “Look, man, nobody sends me to bring them your heads or one of them, I don’t care. I am on my way home, Mabel and Dipper are probably worried sick.”

 

“Silence! Just get out of my cave or I’m gonna eat you alive.”

 

“Good luck trying.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm working slow, yes q.q I am so sorry. Work is a pain in the ass, I really wanted to finish this chapter before the year 207̃012, so if it feels rushed then... yea it is.


End file.
